we are the warriors that built this town
by CuddlyCookie1360
Summary: They've trekked from the capital of Katolis to the heart of Xadia. They've fought evil creatures, hostile people, angry dragons, and demons they can't see. They've learned, developed, and grown even stronger. But Callum and Rayla's journey is only beginning.
1. chapter 1

***if it's confusing, the beginning section is a prologue/in the future scene, and then it dials back to start the story of how they got there**

***it's fluffy now, keyword now**

***just to clear things up, yes, there is violence, but it's not gory or graphic. it's pretty in line with the show actually, though maybe a bit more detailed because it's a story so you can read the characters' thoughts and feelings**

***and i know everyone hates ocs, but that's literally the only way i can make this work. i hope i can write them in a way where they don't take away from the story**

***also i'll probably abandon this at some point knowing me but uh i'll try not to**

***happy writers appreciation day! i don't actually know what's it's called lol. I've had this chapter finished for a while but i wanted to wait until today to post it**

***story title from warriors - imagine dragons**

***chapter title from what's in your house? - (g)i-dle (translated to english)**

**Callum's Age : 14**

**Rayla's Age : 15**

**Time Since Journey's Start : 2 Weeks**

**Time Since Previous Chapter : N/A**

* * *

It wasn't supposed to go like this, Callum thinks.

Things were supposed to be normal. Things were supposed to be okay. Everything had been okay for a while; he had his primal magic and was learning more every day, he got to travel to exotic places and see wonderful sights, and the best thing of all, he had Rayla by his side.

He still does. But it's different now.

So many things are different now.

They used to travel together, her pulling him out of the way of tree branches or roots while he read; they would huddle close together by their campfire and tell each other small facts about themselves; they supported and stood by each other both because they wanted to and because there was no one else. That was back when their biggest concern was when to rest and for how long, watching out for rebel elves who hated humans, and keeping themselves and the Dragon Prince safe.

Everything changed once they returned Zym.

It wasn't bad, per say, just... different. He wasn't used to the freedom, and he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not. It wasn't anything like how he grew up or at the castle or traveling with Rayla but it wasn't bad. Just different.

And now, he's sat at the edge of a cliff, wondering which decision to make and about the offer he could take, and part of him wishes things could go back to how they were when it was him and Rayla against the world.

He and Rayla are still against the world.

Why do they fight so much? That's all the ever do, they fight and fight and get no results. It used to be her swords and his magic, side by side, him watching her back as she threw herself into the fight. But now, no matter how much they slish and slash, some problems can't be solved with a sword and a spell.

They're not fighting each other at least. That's not saying they don't ever argue, but it's him and Rayla against everything else. It's him and Rayla against everyone else. It's always been him and Rayla, hasn't it? Whatever they do, they do together. That's what he said, right?

Then why aren't they doing this together too?

He feels powerless. It's an odd feeling, considering how much progress he's made and strength he's gained. It's not unfamiliar, though, and part of him welcomes it like how he used to. Part of him fights it like he always does now. He doesn't like the feeling of being helpless. He's tired of being inferior. He's tired period.

He's supposed to have all the answers; that's what all of his training was for. He's spent months getting to this point, days spent pouring over pages, weeks spent memorizing incantations and runes, and for what? All he does now since that stupid spell is fight, and look where that's got him. He hates it. What good is all this fighting?

Or more importantly, what good is all this fighting with himself?

It was a simple decision, stay or go, do or don't. It could change his life, it really could, but it could be for the better. He should follow his heart, right? That's what someone told him once, don't follow the path laid out for him if he doesn't want to. He was going to choose his own destiny. He was going to write his own path.

But what about all his work? Everything he's ever done has led up to this point, but is it worth throwing everything away for? The past year would all be for nothing. He's worked so hard for this, fought so much for this, should he throw it away? Can he throw it away?

But then he thinks about the rush of air and the words that fit on his tongue and how he's been chasing it for years and how great it was, and he thinks maybe he can.

It wasn't supposed to go like this.

But he can't see how it could go any other way.

* * *

There's a _dragon._

Callum is honestly not sure what he's supposed to feel, astounded? Fearful? Awestruck? He gawks at the dragon over Rayla's shoulder. The creature's scales glimmer in the light as he stands tall, the splitting image of 'majestic.' Like the embodiment of the sun, the dragon is golden and gleaming, and Rayla is pulling him out of the way.

"Don't stare at him!" she whisper yells, her angry face bringing him back to reality from whatever trance he was in. They're behind one of the canyons, the dragon- Sol Regem, Rayla called him?- hidden from view.

"There's a dragon," he breathes, in amazement because wow, he's never seen a dragon look like that before, but then awe turns to panic as he realizes, crap, _there's a dragon!_

He turns to Rayla, who's holding a babbling Zym in her arms, trying to get him to be quiet for once, and he asks her, "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know!" she snaps, eyeing the edge of their cover. Zym wiggles in her arms.

"Okay," Callum says, bringing his arms up in surrender. If she's freaking out, it's probably bad. He's kinda surprised he's not panicking as much as she is, though maybe it's because he doesn't really know what they're up against. Maybe it's because he's panicked so often stuff like this doesn't faze him anymore. Maybe it's because of something else (like the odd sense of calm; it's as if he knows this dragon won't hurt him. If only that were true).

"Who is that?" he questions because hopefully they can come up with some sort of plan like they always do.

"Sol Regem," Rayla replies, bobbing Zym up and down like a mother trying to quiet a child. "He's the archdragon of the sun and spoiler alert: he hates humans."

Callum hums, already lost in thought about the whole 'archdragon' thing. He didn't know those existed. He knows there's archmages, so are archdragons the same kind of concept? Then again, he doesn't know exactly what makes an archmage, so maybe not. And he's the archdragon of the sun, so are there other archdragons? Maybe for each primal source-

"Callum, unless you're thinking up some sort of brilliant plan to get us out of this, now is not the time to zone out," Rayla says, holding his shoulder with one hand.

"Are there other archdragons?" Callum finds himself asking, curiosity officially piqued. "If he's the archdragon of the sun, are there archdragons for the other primal sources? Like a sky archdragon, and a moon one?"

Rayla narrows her eyes. "That's what you care about right now?"

The ground vibrates as Sol Regem moves. Rayla's eyes widen and she presses up against the rock right next to him, holding Zym between them. The baby dragon squirms in her arms, and Callum wraps one of his own around him.

Rayla presses her lips into a line as the ground shakes more, almost like there's an earthquake, and Callum swears that they jump off the ground a little with every step. He's not sure what they're supposed to be doing, so he holds Zym tighter and tries to breathe quieter like that'll help.

Sol Regem breathes deeply, he can hear it even from behind the arch, and his voice rumbles as he says, "I smell death."

Callum's heart speeds up, and he looks at Rayla, who's eyes are also wide in fear. He knows the archdragon's words can only mean one thing: he can sense them. More specifically, he can sense Callum. Or rather, the dark magic left on Callum.

_'Why does dark magic have to be so annoying?'_ Callum thinks, frustrated. Had he known using it to save Rayla and that dragon would cause so many problems, he wouldn't have grabbed the book and the grub and casted the spell!

Well, he probably still would've. But that's not the point.

Sol Regem huffs, irritated. "I know you are there. Reveal yourself."

Callum waits for Rayla to say something or do something but she doesn't, instead, she looks between him and Zym with something like panic and desperation. Zym yips and glances around, confused. Seeing as how she isn't taking action, Callum decides to take matters into his own hands.

It's stupid and he knows it, but to be fair, the archdragon already knows he's there, so there's no point in hiding anymore. He lets go of Zym, and Rayla gives him a look as if to ask_ 'what are you doing?'_ He steps close to the edge of their cover and takes a breathe, and then he steps out of his hiding place.

Sol Regem towers above him, Callum can barely crane his neck enough to see his head. His scales shine and his wings spread by his sides, showing them off in something like dominance. His head is what's weird to Callum, however. There's white strands falling around the dragon's chin, almost like a beard, and there's angry red blisters where his eyes are supposed to be. It's sad, he thinks. He feels sorry for him.

Without looking down at him, Sol Regem states one command, "Leave."

It catches Callum off guard, and he's stunned. He fumbles with his words for a bit, forgetting how to speak. "What?"

"I said, leave!" the archdragon booms, stomping his foot and making Callum go airborne for a second. Smoke pours out of his nostrils. "You are lucky I haven't struck you down on the spot."

"I..." Callum starts, catching himself before he can fall. The sudden command and the force behind it shocks him. He had no chance to give an explanation, no chance to even say a word, and he's been told to leave? That quickly?

No, it won't be that easy. They didn't come all this way for nothing.

"I can't," Callum says, finding his balance and planting his feet in the ground.

Sol Regem huffs. "And why is that?"

"I can't leave, not until our quest is done," Callum replies, looking up at the dragon. "I can't leave until we return Zym to his mother!"

"Zym?" Sol Regem repeats, tilting his head in intrigue.

With perfect timing, Zym jumps out of Rayla's arms and bounds over to Callum, trotting around by his feet. Sol Regem seems visibly taken aback for a few seconds. Then he leans forward and bows his head, touching it to the ground in front of them. "Your highness," he utters.

Up close, Callum can see the scars covering the archdragon's face. They're red and blistered, not quite healed over like they should be, like something is stopping them from closing entirely. His eyes are merely red holes with his eyelids glued shut, and a feeling of sympathy floods Callum's heart, and suddenly he feels like crying for the dragon.

Zym chirps happily, skipping over and licking the dragon's face. Sol Regem appears confused, maybe not quite realizing how young the baby dragon really is. After all, if he can only sense the world around him, then he probably can't tell that Zym is still small and merely a child.

Rayla wanders over too, mouth shapes like an o, watching quietly as Zym bounds around Sol Regem's face. The dragon shifts his head slightly so he can speak. "How young is the Dragon Prince?"

"About a week old," Callum replies, putting his hands on his hips and grinning as he watches Zym. It's strange, he thinks. He's usually shy talking to adults, especially other nobles, and yet, he suddenly finds speaking to the dragon easy. Maybe because he's seen the vulnerability he holds. Maybe it's because he stopped thinking of him as an archdragon and started thinking of him as just a dragon who's been harmed by the war.

"And you call him... Zym?"

"Well, his full name is Azymondias," Callum explains, "but we shortened it to Zym."

Sol Regem hums, lightly tapping his head against the baby dragon. He lifts his head up off the ground and draws back, standing to his full height once again. "You have used dark magic," he says.

Callum feels like shrinking back all the sudden, like he would whenever some noble asked an uncomfortable question or the topic at hand was difficult to talk about. Luckily, Rayla steps up. "Your honor, if I may, had Callum not used dark magic, both a dragon and I could've been killed."

He briefly wonders when her manner of speech became more formal, kinda like his step-dad whenever he was in a meeting or Ezran's whenever they met with a noble. He had always been the more quiet and awkward one and usually ended up being either too casual or too uptight.

Sol Regem considers it for a moment. "I cannot just throw away centuries of tensions for you to-"

Zym scurries up onto Callum's shoulders and licks his face, giving zappy baby dragon kisses. He can't help but laugh, and Zym snuggles closer to his cheek. Rayla watches the exchange, and her tense shoulders slouch just a little.

Sol Regem stops mid-sentence and tilts his head up to the clouds. Callum pushes Zym's face away a bit so he can look up at the dragon. He peers down at their odd trio, a Moonshadow assassin, a human prince, and a baby dragon. It's a unlikely alliance, one thought impossible.

And yet, here they are.

He can't tell what the dragon is feeling. He's looking down on them with a blank expression, supposedly contemplating or waiting for something. Even though he knows he can't see it, Callum offers a small smile.

His wings flap once, then twice, and Callum feels the air rush by, swirling together under the dragon's wings to make momentum. He watches as the dragon begins to float. He lifts high into the air, twirling in a spiral with his shadow casting over them, majestic and magical. His absence opens the path underneath him, and he begins to ascend into the clouds.

And Callum realizes that he wasn't looking down on them, he was looking down at them.

He looks at Rayla, who looks at him with a stunned expression on her face, and then he laughs a little and throws his arms around her. She does the same, holding on to both him and Zym. Somehow, they managed to convince the dragon with a longtime hatred for humans to let them pass through. How he was swayed by Zym's babbling and Callum's strange casualness and Rayla's awe is beyond him, but he's grateful all the same.

"Come on," Rayla says, pulling away and gazing out at the open land. "We better get walking before he changes his mind."

Callum nods, and looks up one more time at the sky. Sol Regem's outline is hidden in the clouds, swirling over them like he's waiting for something, though Callum supposes it's because even though he's letting them through, he still has to guard the Border, and he can't just get up and leave.

And Callum finds himself wanting to thank the dragon somehow, for showing him the costs of war and how they can still function in spite of it. Words flash through his mind, and he breathes in deeply and shouts at the top of his lungs, hoping the dragon will hear.

Rayla looks back at him from a couple paces ahead with her eyebrow quirked, and he makes eye contact with her and smiles, because wow, Xadia is amazing!

And from high in the clouds, from his brief glance after his thank you, he could've sworn he saw the dragon smiling.

* * *

It feels good to be back in Xadia.

There's an air of familiarity. She's in her home court now; she has the upper hand. The tension drops from her shoulders, her eyes dart around less, and overall, she's not on edge as much as she was in the human kingdoms. It makes sense, she thinks.

They've made it past the Border, past Sol Regem, and now Callum, Zym, and her walk through the canyons. The sun beats down on her back, but she doesn't break a sweat as they walk along in silence. Callum isn't as lucky; she can see him tug at his scarf like he wants to take it off, but his hand falls away.

Her head is clear of thoughts for the most part. Zym stays by her feet, never getting in her way, but still close enough to graze her legs. Behind her, Callum looks around, in wonder of the land even though there's nothing special to see. She can feel the surge of magic easily after being away from it for so long, but other than that, it's a pretty typical desert.

Or at least, typical for Xadia.

Nothing happens until Callum stops with a gasp. She looks over to see him staring ahead, eyes full of pure wonder. Following his gaze to up ahead, she can see a field in the middle of the desert. The grass is a bit yellow, but it looks like grass all the same. The field is filled with tall sunflowers about half of Rayla's height. While strange to see in the area, the plain has a way of blending into the land, no matter how different it is.

"What is that?" Callum asks, voice full of wonder, staring at the garden almost like he's in a trance. She's not sure whether he's more in awe of it because they're in Xadia or because it's a plain in the desert. But those are normal, so she doesn't see why he's so amazed.

"They're called desert gardens," she replies, crossing her arms and looking at him curiously. "They're gardens in the desert. It's in the name."

She turns back around on her heel, making it clear that they are moving on. Callum's eyes shine and despite Rayla continuing to walk, his eyes keep darting back to the field, always finding a way there.

Eventually, Rayla sighs. "Do you want to go over there?"

"Can we?" Callum asks shyly, twiddling his fingers together.

Against her wishes, a small smile creeps onto her face. "Yes, dummy."

"Really?"

She rolls her eyes playfully. "Yes means yes, silly prince."

She's surprised she doesn't collapse on the spot when he gives her the biggest, happiest grin she's ever seen. It's like the sun incarnated, warming her to the tips of her toes, and for a second, she forgets how to breathe.

Callum dashes off to the garden, Zym following close on his heels. She watches them go for a second, still trying to get Callum's smile out of her head, then she begins to follow much more casually. They reach the garden in no time, and Callum stops in his tracks and gapes at the flowers.

"Are they all that different from human flowers?" Rayla asks, regarding the flowers blankly. She's never been one to stop and wonder about the intricacies of nature, but she can still appreciate a good flower or two. But sunflowers are quite boring in her opinion, probably because they're her opposite. It must be a moonshadow thing.

Callum cups one of the flowers in his hands and doesn't answer, too busy staring in wonder. He traces the petals carefully, making sure to touch every line. Rayla watches him for a moment, but she quickly gets bored of whatever he's doing, and she leaves him to his own thing and goes and finds Zym.

The baby dragon is running around the flowers, stopping to smell them and sneezing. Rayla follows him, a bit unsure of what to do. She's more about action rather than sightseeing. Zym jumps from area to area, letting the grass ruffle around him, trying to jump high enough to touch the tops of flowers. Rayla watches from a small distance.

Suddenly, Callum runs past, arms out and giggling adorably. It puts a grin on her face. They haven't been this relaxed in a while, and she'll admit that it's nice. It's nice not having to worry about humans. It's nice being able to watch Callum and Zym have fun. Callum turns on his heel towards her, flashing her a smile, and falls backwards, landing amongst the flowers.

For a second, concern flashes through her mind. But he sits up, his head right about where the flowers end, and he laughs, loud and unrestrained. She shakes her head and wanders over. Zym runs rings around him, and silence falls between the group, save for the rustling of grass in the wind.

"Have you ever made a flower crown?" Callum asks randomly, petting Zym's head.

She has to think for a moment to answer his question. "Uh, no?" she replies, a bit shaken by the sudden change in topic.

Callum pats the ground next to him. "Sit. I can make you one if you want."

"Okay," she agrees, plopping down next to him, being careful not to sit on the stem of a flower. She can't see any harm in her making her a flower crown, so she waits patiently.

Callum breaks the stem of a sunflower, making Rayla cringe. Being so close to nature, seeing it harmed like that makes her uncomfortable. Callum doesn't seem to have any qualms about it, and judging by the types of buildings she saw back in Katolis, the humans live in quarters set aside for them. Elves tend to live more among the land.

Callum grabs another one and begins weaving the stems together. A concentrated look is on his face, him biting his tongue. "They're a bit big," he says, "so I might only be able to use a couple. Though I should probably make it a bit bigger to account for your horns."

He gets one more and weaves the three together. She doesn't know exactly what he's doing, so she just sits and waits for him to finish. Absently, she plays with Zym's hair and makes sure he doesn't run away.

"Ta da!" Callum exclaims, holding up the finished flower crown. Three sunflowers are woven together by their stems, forming a circle. It looks a little messy, but she's no expert. He turns to her. "Can you bow your head?"

She does, and he fits the flower crown around her horns. It's a bit too big for her head and the flower petals flop around, but she likes it all the same, despite not being able to see it.

"There," Callum says, smiling at her when she looks up.

"Are you crowning me?" Rayla asks coyly.

Callum shrugs. "Every prince needs his princess, right?"

Rayla is surprised she doesn't have a heart attack on the spot.

Luckily, Callum either doesn't notice or doesn't comment on her internal distress and lack of witty response and instead chooses to laugh. He stands, spinning through the flowers.

She clears her throat. "You're so charming," Rayla says sarcastically, even though it's not really sarcastic.

Callum laughs. "The charming-est."

"Prince Charming," Rayla replies, and she smiles a little. "That's a good one. I'm gonna use that now."

"Then I guess you're my knight in shining armor," Callum responds without missing a beat.

"I thought I was your princess?"

"You can be that too. A knight princess. My mom was a warrior queen."

Rayla hums, not knowing how else to continue the conversation. "We should get going if we want to find shelter before nightfall."

"Oh," Callum says, looking downcast at the flowers. "Okay."

She hates to pry him away from this. Heck, she hates to pry herself away from this; she wants this happy moment to last forever. But if they stay here, they won't make any progress, and the longer she sits, the more restless she gets. "Maybe we can come back," Rayla suggests, not liking the sad look on his face. "You know, once Zym is returned."

"Yeah, that sounds nice," replies Callum. He cups a flower in his hands one last time and says, "Alright then. Let's get going."

* * *

It's their first night in Xadia.

Rayla managed to drag Callum and Zym away from the desert garden, and the trio had walked for ages until the sun went down. Rayla found a small cave for them to stay in, and they huddled into the small space to try and get comfortable.

Now, Rayla didn't notice it as much anymore, but Xadia gets extremely cold at night. And she means extremely. It's not as bad where they are because they're in the middle of the desert, but to someone less attuned to Xadian weather, it'll still be noticeable.

She can see Callum shivering in the dreary cave. He wraps his arms around himself, and Zym curls closer to keep him warm. His eyes dart to the empty area next to him. He doesn't comment on it, and neither does she.

She sits by the cave entrance both to guard it and be closer to fresh air. While she has nothing against being in caves, it can feel a little cramped with two others. There's not much to think about, so she focuses on the night breeze and stars in the sky. She can't see the moon behind the clouds, but she can still feel it's presence, and it fills her heart in a way she can't describe.

Callum finally cracks and quietly asks, "Rayla, can we start a fire?"

She would if she could; she knows how cold Xadia can be. She doesn't like seeing him suffer either. But she replies, "Do you see any sticks around?"

Which is true. They're in the middle of the desert for pete's sake. Finding the desert garden was a stroke of luck, but there weren't any trees there.

Callum's face falls a little, and he mutters, "Oh, right."

Rayla's shoulder slump. "I would if I could, but there's just nothing to make a fire out of, sorry."

"It's alright," Callum responds. "Sorry I asked."

"Nah, you're fine," she says, waving him off. The atmosphere suddenly feels melancholic, like there's something to talk about but there's nothing to say. She feels like she's missing something, is off by a beat, like Callum knows something she doesn't. It makes her tense.

"Is it always like this?" Callum asks softly, head pressed against his knees.

"Like what?"

"Hot during the day, cold during the night."

"Yeah, pretty much," Rayla answers. "It's not even that bad here, it'll get colder the further we go. Though we'll be able to find towns then."

Callum hums. He reaches out a hand and runs his fingers through Zym's mane, the baby dragon leaning into his touch in his sleep. "You never answered my question about the archdragons."

Rayla leans back to balance on her hands. "What was your question?"

She notes how Callum's eyes light up, even if it's just a little, as he asks, "Are there archdragons for each primal source?"

"Yep," Rayla answers, staring out into the night sky. "They switch who rules Xadia every while or so. When the Dragon King was," she swallows, not quite feeling right about the next word, _"killed,_ the Dragon Queen took over. Though I hear she's not doing very well."

"At ruling or in general?"

"I'm not sure," Rayla replies, because honestly she's not. Runaan would know more about that then she would. "She did order the mission to..." she trails off, not sure if it's okay to proceed. The wound is still fresh, and the last thing she wants to do is reopen it.

Callum gets the message. He scratches Zym under his cheek, expression more sullen. "Can we be sure this will do anything then?"

Rayla raises an eyebrow, suddenly feeling her heartbeat pick up for a reason she can't explain. "What do you mean?"

"Will returning Zym do anything? If the Dragon Queen ordered the mission, I doubt she's going to be swayed to make peace."

Rayla blinks. That had popped into her head a couple times, but it had never stayed for long. She'd always denied the possibility of that, saying they would make her understand. In all honesty, the idea scares her. It's terrifying to think their mission could all be for nothing after they came all this way, but he has a point. A good point, too.

"We'll just have to convince her, right?" Callum asks quietly. By his tone, it sounds like he doesn't really believe it himself.

Rayla breathes, in and out. "Yeah. I'm sure we can."

She's not sure, but she doesn't say that. Callum doesn't say it either, but she can tell by his crestfallen expression that they're both thinking the same thing.

What if this doesn't work? What happens then? She doesn't want to find out. All out war is a scary near reality, and suddenly she can feel the weight of the world on her shoulders.

But then she thinks the weight of the world has always been on their shoulders. She just never realized it.

* * *

They start traveling again when the sun comes up.

Callum doesn't mind; he gets that they have an important mission, and Sol Regem could come from out of the clouds and smite them (though he doubts he will, it's a possibility), and there could be other elves. But it would be nice to sleep in one time. He never realized how much he took it for granted until he couldn't do it anymore.

His legs ache. He's felt it for a while now, really ever since they started their journey, but it's never been as bad as it is that day. He can feel his knees weaken with every step, and part of him worries they're going to give out. His feet burn, on fire every time he takes a step.

He ignores it. There's nothing they can do about it anyways. The sun beats down on his back, and he's tempted to take off his scarf, but the fear of losing it is stronger and so he leaves it be. Ahead of him, Rayla shows no signs of being affected by the heat. He doesn't mind being in the company of an elf, but her inherent increased physical abilities are annoying to him. He's tired of feeling inferior.

There's another desert garden ahead. It's a small one, much smaller than the other one, but it fascinates him all the same. His legs start to move on his own, but Rayla gives him a look, and he holds back from running over to it.

"This seems like a good place to break," she says when they reach the nearby field. She knows he wants to explore it, and a small smile reaches his face. Zym is tired too, and he immediately flops onto the ground as soon as he's allowed to. Callum wishes he could do that as well, but if he does, he probably won't be able to get up again.

So while Rayla checks their pack for food and water, he walks over to the desert garden. The flowers are obviously different then the ones before; they're red and shorter and blend from crimson tips to a yellow center and their shape reminds him of roses. His mother used to love roses.

He doesn't know what it is, but something draws him to them, like a fish being reeled in. They're mesmerizing to him, no matter how similar they are to human flowers or what the reason is. He has some weird fascination maybe, he's not sure, but he does know that he reaches for the stem of one and pulls back when he feels something sharp cut through his hand and fire in his palm.

He grits his teeth and sucks in air quietly, holding one palm in the other. It burns for a second, but the initial shock dies down and he looks at the damage. It seems fine; there's no thorn in his hand, so he takes that as a plus. It's only a small cut, though it puts a hole in his glove and he's not happy about that, and it burns his hand a little, but it's manageable. It's not bad enough to waste a bandage on, but it still stings.

Rayla's over his shoulder in a second; he's not sure whether he just noticed or she walked up to him as quiet as a mouse. "Whatcha doing?"

He jumps a bit, hiding his hand in front of him. "Nothing! Just admiring the flowers."

He hates how his voice cracks as he dismisses her, but he tries to look as nonchalant as possible to play it off. She raises an eyebrow. "Okay... but again? Didn't we see enough flowers yesterday?"

"Yeah, but these ones are different."

"Flowers are flowers, Callum."

He gasps, faking offense. "How dare you."

She smiles, and it looks nice on her; with her trying so hard to keep them alive and well, he doesn't get to see it often. That's why he tries to not complain so much. She's already doing so much for them, she doesn't need any complaints from him on top of that.

Callum grins back, and he turns towards the flowers again. Rayla informs him, "Watch out. These are fire-flowers, so they have thorns that'll burn you if you get cut."

No duh. Callum laughs a little, breathy and awkward. "Yeah, I know."

She raises an eyebrow again; it seems she does that a lot. She glances down at the flowers as well, and too quick for him to comprehend, she grabs his hand. So much for trying to hide it.

"Callum!" she exclaims. "You dummy, maybe look at the flower first before you just grab it!"

He goes quiet, letting her grasp his hand between hers. Her eyes narrow, and she yells, "Can you think before you act? Why are you so attached to these flowers anyways?"

He breaks his gaze at that, feeling his heart clench and his eyes water. He blinks rapidly. It's pathetic crying over something as stupid as what she said, but it hits hard and he suddenly feels like a child again.

Rayla sighs, squeezing his hand. "You are insufferable, you know that?"

Her soft tone suggests she thinks otherwise, but it still hurts. Callum takes his hand back, no matter how much he wants her to hold it and how he suddenly wishes for a hug, and voice sharp, he says, "Let's keep going."

Her eyes don't leave him as he goes to grab his backpack and Zym, but doesn't turn around.

* * *

"Watch where you're going."

If she had a flower for every time she has had to say that, she would have more than the garden.

She doesn't mind Callum drawing while they walk. He's shown her a couple sketches, and his talent made her completely forget how annoying it is to have to pull him out of the way. They're nearing the beginning of the plains and the end of the desert, which means there's more rocks and bushes, which also means if he wanted to draw while walking, he should've done it a day ago.

There's a rock in front of him, but he's so invested in his artwork he doesn't see it. Part of her wants to let him trip over it as revenge for him not paying attention, but she would feel bad, especially after their... argument earlier.

They haven't talked about it, and for someone who tends to bottle up her thoughts and feelings, it eats her up inside. She doesn't like the thought of him being angry with her. She's still annoyed at him for not thinking before he acted, but it's faded into worry now. She's not sure how to tell him she isn't mad, though.

Taking pity on him, she grabs him by the collar of his jacket and pulls him to the side, maybe a bit too sharply, as he stumbles and yelps. She lets go as soon as he's out of the way, and he looks confused but looks down at the rock and mutters, "Thanks."

She nods. Callum's pencil scratches against the paper, and Zym trots up ahead, looking a little bored. She is too; Callum is the only one with something to do. Usually they would chat as they walk, but he's too busy drawing. And it wasn't a problem before when Ezran was with them because Rayla could talk to him. But there's no one else now. It's just them.

It hits her then that's it's just them. There's no Ezran. He's facing a completely different problem and he's only a kid. They're only kids, Rayla's barely of age, Zym's only a week old, and Callum's a human. How have they managed to get this far? How are they still managing?

"Are you alright?" Callum asks, glancing up from his drawing for a second.

"Fine," she snaps, too sharp for what she intended, but she doesn't correct it. She keeps her head high and continues walking.

Callum raises his eyebrows, skeptical. Rayla sighs sadly, crossing her arms. "It's just... it's just us now."

Callum looks downcast, gazing at the sketchbook in his hands. "Yeah."

On the paper, she can see the beginning of a drawing, but it looks surprising humanoid. But then she realizes. Of all the things they've encountered so far, despite being in a new world, Callum is drawing Ezran.

She forgot. Of course Callum is sad; Ezran's left them. It's probably why he was so quiet yesterday, as it was their first night in Xadia and they're first night without him. That's why he kept looking into the empty space. He was looking for someone who wasn't there. Suddenly she feels absolutely awful.

"I'm sorry," Callum says, and she's confused for a second. Why would he be apologizing?

"Huh?"

"For," he flips his hand, "being an idiot."

She smiles, though it feels tight on her face. Really she should apologize too. Guilt from before flows through her heart because Callum was upset over Ezran, and she yelled at him; he probably felt like the only person around was angry with him, and she hasn't said anything about it. She's a terrible friend, if he even considers her one.

But her sarcasm comes first, automatically replying for her. "It's okay. You can't help it."

Callum laughs, sounding like an angel, and for a second, she forgets about the weight of the world on their shoulders. They're two dorks traveling across half the world with a baby dragon, and Rayla doesn't mind that.

But it hurts too because he shouldn't have to laugh. He shouldn't have to apologize. But she doesn't comment on it.

"We'll be coming up to a town soon," she says, changing the subject. Her mind screams at her to say something else, but she ignores it. "It's a small one, but a town nonetheless."

Callum hums, returning to his drawing, and she thinks the conversation drops off. But his eyes light up and he closes his sketchbook in excitement. "Will I get to dress like an elf?"

Rayla blinks. That was not what she had expected to come out of his mouth.

Callum bounces up and down. "Like how you had your 'human Rayla' disguise! I can be 'elf Callum!"

"How will you do the accent though?"

He falls back onto his feet. "Oh. Yeah, that might be a problem."

She smirks. "Might?"

"Might," Callum repeats. "Do we even have four fingered gloves?"

"We'll have to get some."

Callum raises his eyebrows. "Get some as is buy some or steal some?"

She shrugs playfully. Callum shakes his head and returns to drawing, letting the conversation fall back into silence. It was nice how easy the conversation changed from serious to banter. She could get behind that. Rayla grins, and she turns away from him to face ahead again, trying to squash down the voice in her head telling her to say something. Her pride won't allow it.

Her eyes dart ahead of her, and she stops in her tracks.

* * *

Callum looks up from his sketchbook when he hears Rayla's footsteps cut off.

"What is it?" he asks, looking to her first. He still feels his heart tug and hears his mind replay what she said before, but she brushes it off and so does he, not wanting to bring it up if she's not going to.

She doesn't say anything, eyes glued to the area in front of them. And suddenly, he can see what she means.

Or rather, feel what she means.

If he were simply passing by, he wouldn't have been able to guess it was anything more than a crater in the ground. A humongous one at that, but he would've assumed it's nothing more than a landmark. Yet he can feel waves of emotion rolling off of it, like a hole has been torn in the heart of the land. He's not sure how to describe how it makes him feel. The best word he has for it is empty. He feels empty.

Rayla's movement stops. Zym's chipping stops. Callum's not sure what stops for him, but the sparks from his and Rayla's banter die off, and it suddenly feels like something is missing. Something important. He finds himself clutching his sketchbook closer to his chest.

Zym looks at it curiously, head lolled to the side, but even he must be able to feel whatever is radiating off of the area. Rayla looks plain sad. It reminds Callum of a graveyard in a way. He's been to enough to know what they're like.

He takes a slow step forward first, not remembering making himself move. Rayla and Zym watch him. His feet are heavy as he takes another, but something compels him to keep going. Zym follows with him, staying close to his feet, like a child clinging to his parent, afraid, almost, of what's looming ahead of them.

It's like a bomb went off. There's a hole torn out of the ground, spanning for ages. If he squints hard enough, he can see the other side. It... _echos_ in a way. Emotions roll off it in waves; he feels sad, then angry, then numb. Mostly numb. There's something dark around it too, and something almost personal. He can't quite put his finger on it, but it's on the tip of his tongue. He knows what this is, but he can't explain it.

Zym walks ahead, his usually chipper aura gone. Callum watches him go deeper into the crater. He looks around curiously, a little lost, and he pats the ground with his foot. When he looks back, there's a frown on his face.

Callum had never seen Zym frown.

Suddenly he feels like sobbing, the explanation hitting him like a train.

"This is..." Callum starts, to no one in particular. He can hear Rayla walking up behind him, her footsteps loud in the otherwise silent crater. Zym curls against the ground like he's trying to give it a hug.

"...Where Thunder..."

He turns towards Rayla to see her tilt her head. "Thunder?"

"The Dragon King."

Her mouth forms an o, and she nods sadly. Callum wants to reach for her hand all the sudden, maybe to support her, maybe to support him. This is the place where a powerful ruler was slain. This is the place where humans pulled off a feat believed to be impossible. This is the place where had this not happened, he wouldn't be standing there.

This is the place where his mom's killer got a taste of his own medicine.

Just as quickly as sadness appeared, bitterness fills his mind. He feels his jaw tighten and his mouth press into a line, and he looks at Zym, who's snuggled against the ground like he's trying to get close to someone who isn't there, and it only tightens his resolve. Zym doesn't need to see this. Zym doesn't deserve to feel this. He deserves to have happy memories, not this. "Let's go."

"Callum..." Rayla says, reaching her hand out. He wants to take it, it's unbelievable how much he wants to take it, but he looks her in the eyes and shakes his head painfully.

"Let's go."

* * *

Tensions are high after that.

Rayla cradles Zym close to her arms as Callum lags behind. She wants to say something, but nothing comes to mind. Seeing Zym so upset made her feel an emotion she didn't even know she could feel, and she could pinpoint the exact moment Callum's feelings changed from sympathy to whatever they were.

They're finally at a point where life is returning to the land. There's patches of grass, and if she squints enough, she can see trees along the horizon. The sun is beginning to reach golden hour, and she's been keeping her eyes peeled for places to stop for shelter, though she's hoping they can make it into the forest before the sun sets. It'll be easier to find somewhere there, especially since there's not many caves anymore.

She had been hoping they wouldn't get caught here. There's no canyons nearby to hide in, so they either have to continue walking into the night to reach the trees or turn back to find shelter, neither of which are good options. The open field makes her apprehensive, like there's sets of eyes constantly on them. Her skin crawls even though she knows no one is there.

Finally, as golden hour is upon them, she sighs and stops. "We have two choices: keep going until we reach the forest, which could mean we're walking during nighttime, or double back to find shelter."

"Why didn't you say there's nowhere to stop here before?" Callum asks, moving to sit on one of the patches of grass around them.

"I was hoping we wouldn't get stuck here, but your little detours set us just far back enough." She sets Zym down, letting him rummage through a patch of tall grass. He pokes his head out from the strands, and a small smile is brought to her face. It's a nice change after they're last encounter.

"Ah!" Callum exclaims randomly, and she whips her head around and has her hands over her blades in half a second. But she sees him sucking on his hand near a flower with thorns, and she deadpans.

"You stupid..." she starts, striding over. Kneeling down, she grabs his hand to see another mark where he reached for a flower.

It's frustrates her in a way she can't describe. Why does he keep acting without thinking? He's always been the more observant of the two, the one to come up with a plan for her to enact. Why does he keep neglecting that?

And why is she so angry over it?

"Do you have any common sense?" she asks, looking him in the eye. He doesn't meet her gaze. "Can you please, just for once, think before you act?!"

There's a small part of her mind telling her to stop, but the rest of her is angry. Maybe it's from the leftover tension, maybe it's her way of showing concern, but regardless, rage bubbles in her throat.

"I was just trying to..."

"I don't care!" she interrupts, shaking his hand angrily. "Look before you leap, you dummy!"

"I don't need you to remind me how dumb I am!" Callum yells, snapping his head up to lock eyes with her. Everything goes silent, every once of rage sucked from her body. All the sudden, guilt floods through her chest. Her hands slacken against his, and he pulls it back sharply.

"I didn't mean-"

"I know you didn't," Callum says, and some relief fills her, but his gaze is sharp when she looks up at him. "But that doesn't mean it didn't hurt any less."

Callum grabs Zym from the ground, who looks a little confused but rolls with it. "We're walking to the forest."

She doesn't argue.

* * *

He finds her sat out by the forest edge, facing the desert, head tilted up to the night sky.

He's not entirely sure what to say. The tension had been so thick even he could've managed to cut it with a sword, and that's saying something. He still feels angry when he thinks of her words, he still feels bitter when he thinks of the field, and he's had a sour taste in his mouth all day; it was bound to boil over at some point. He wishes he didn't take it out on her though, but she hit a sore soft even if she didn't know it.

He knows she can hear his footsteps. He makes sure of it. She doesn't turn around, but he sees her ears twitch. Is he supposed to say hello? He's sorry? He would apologize, but really, he isn't sorry. Sure, he shouldn't have yelled at her like he did, but if her idea of showing concern is by calling him an idiot, that's on her too.

But blaming each other isn't going to get them anywhere. He knows that well enough from the war.

"I've given the same speech a hundred times," he says, because he has. It feels almost like an excuse to him, but it's not. Really, it's not. It pains him every time he thinks about it.

Her ears flutter, letting him know she's listening. He steps closer. "Growing up, I wasn't good at anything. Well, anything other than art."

"I know," she replies. "You've told me."

"No, I haven't." He steps forward again. "Not really."

"Oh?"

He sits beside her, curling his legs up and wrapping his arms around them. Even thinking about what he's going to say makes him what to cry. "Soren liked to call me 'step-prince' a lot. It started off as a joke, but the nickname stuck. I never took it to heart though."

He breathes in, shakily, but he does. "At some point, it became less of a technical title and more of a way to show how..."

His breath shortens, and he closes his eyes and lets his head droop into his knees. "...how I was worth less. A prince who can't do anything can't be called a real prince, right?"

"At one point, it was so bad I stopped trying all together. It was easier to fail at my classes knowing that I didn't try then to actually put in all my effort and have it still not be enough. It was never enough."

The stars are bright above him. His voice is barely above a whisper. _"I_ was never enough."

He feels Rayla's hand on his shoulder, and suddenly the dam breaks. He's been longing for someone's touch, and he's never missed his mother and Ezran more, and god, it would be nice to have someone by his side. Rayla lets him tuck his face under her chin, and she puts her arms around his, squeezing him as tight as he hold her. Just being held makes him feel better than he's felt since they crossed into Xadia.

"I know the feeling," she says. He focuses on her heartbeat as she speaks. "Of trying so hard to still not be enough, having the bar continue being raised so it's constantly out of your reach. I get it, Callum."

He sobs more, not caring if he's only known her for a couple weeks or if something hears them. Nobody, nor even Ezran, has ever been able to relate to the feeling of being so inadequate, of just missing the bar, and she put it into words so easily. He's used to being told that he's being dramatic but she understands. She gets it.

"Oh no, please don't cry," she whispers, dropping her head onto his and burrowing it in his hair. "I don't know how to cheer you up again."

He hold her closer, arms wrapped around her back, just letting them exist. Just for a moment. He forgets the weight of the world on their shoulders and takes her in, losing himself in her embrace. She's warm and safe, and that's more then everything around them right now.

"And I..." she starts, the words catching in her throat. "I shouldn't have yelled. I'm... I'm sorry."

He sniffles into her shoulder. "It's okay."

He can feel her nod. "And speaking of our childhoods," she says, pulling away a little. Callum still holds onto her, but he can see her face now. She's biting her lip and looking at the sky. She takes a deep breath and continues, "The town we're going to?"

She meets his eyes. "Yeah... that's my hometown."

* * *

Sol Regem circles the area by the Border, high up in the clouds. The trio passes underneath him, the human holding the dragon, the elf bounding ahead. He watches their exchange through his senses, picking out their movements by the way their presence moves. Through his observations, or really lack of observing, he can gather a lot about the trio.

The elf is naive, too much of a follower. She's used to other people telling her what to do, how to act, what to say. To survive, she'll have to learn to take matters into her own hands. He feels a twinge of sadness as he thinks of how the war will ruin her, but he squashes it down. He has no room for pity.

The baby dragon holds potential, that much he can tell. He may be small, but he is mighty. He knows how much Regina Draconis has suffered through, the pain she's felt after the fall of Avizandum. Having her son returned will do not only her but the world some good.

But that's not the reason he let them through, no matter how much he tries to justify it. No, the reason he let them through is the human.

There was a certain confidence when he told of his task. He spoke to him casually, like he knew something he didn't. When he had walked out of his hiding spot, dark magic had not been the first thing he sensed. Underneath the layers of shyness and dark magic and the sky arcanum, that human has power. Familiar power.

And he intends to find out where he got it.

* * *

***idk what the canyon rock formation things are called**

***also, since zym is technically royalty he'd be called your highness, and i figured it would be weird for rayla to call sol regem that so he's your honor cuz that's all i could think of**

***sol regem is mean but he's also a sun dragon so he understands that the arcanum is about passion and he sees it in their group and like,,, he likes them ok idk that's my explanation**

***i'll explain it more later**

***also the flower thing seems random but that'll be explained later**

***pretty much everything will be explained later lol, you'll look back on it and see how it connects. it's just the first chapter now so not everything gets explained immediately. i swear the sol regem thing isn't just a cop out and the flower thing isn't there for just unnecessary drama**


	2. Chapter 2

*hey look at me actually updating! sry it's been so long lol, i started this a while ago but school started to kick my butt and i didn't have a lot of time to work on it, plus my chapters are so long whoops

*i say that as i finish this in one weekend,,,, ok me make up your mind pls

*i started kinda outlining chapters and uh,,,,, this is gonna be much longer than i thought it was gonna be

*by that i mean probably around 100 chapters

*i hope there's not a chapter or word count limit lol

*will i be able to pull this off? probably not

*will i try? absolutely

*story title from warriors - imagine dragons

*chapter title from latata - (g)i-dle (translated to english)

Callum's Age : 14

Rayla's Age : 15

Time Since Journey's Start : 2 Weeks, 3 Days

Time Since Previous Chapter : 1 Night

* * *

"Can I look now?"

Zym curls in Rayla's lap as she tosses berries up in the air, letting the baby dragon try catching them in his mouth. For the most part, he can manage to catch them, but sometimes she'll intentionally throw them out too far or up too high just to keep him on his toes. Her back is turned to Callum, who's doing god knows what.

The town is close by now. She's not sure how to feel about going back; on one hand, she might get to see familiar faces again. On the other hand, people know her there, and they don't exactly have the best opinion of her. She wasn't the friendliest person growing up, and it's a sunfire town, which is her opposite.

"Almost done!" Callum comments from behind her, and she tosses another berry in the air to keep her and Zym occupied. Before Zym can grab it, she snatches it out of the air herself with a triumphant laugh. When Zym's face falls, she feeds him a small handful, feeling a little bad.

"Okay, you can look!"

She sighs, questioning if she's mentally prepared for what she's about to see.

Callum is dressed in the same cloak she wore for her human disguise, except on him it goes down closer to his toes, whereas on her it was down to her ankles. The hood is up, and there's small bumps at the top of his head that are supposed to be horns, but really she just tied his hair into small buns with a technique she learned from the other elves in her old assassin team. Other than that, he still looks like Callum, as she has yet to find any gloves or paint on marks. It's not a bad disguise, but it's not perfect either.

"Ta da!" he exclaims, spreading his arms wide to show his perfect elven disguise.

"Well, once we add the tattoos and horns, it won't be _that_ bad?" she offers, standing. "Now do the accent."

"Uh..." Callum mutters, suddenly looking a little shy. "I... uh..."

"Come on," she encourages, Zym giving a helpful yip by her feet. She claps her hands. "Introduce yourself."

Callum clears his throat and then swings his hands. "Hello, fellow elves! I'm Callum... and uh... watch me do cool flips to show off how cool I am!"

She crosses her arms, ignoring his true-but-she'll-deny-it-for-the-sake-of-pride comment. "Where's your accent?"

"Um... I don't have one?"

"Say fine."

"Fine."

"No 'fiiiii-ne.'"

"Finnnnnne."

She facepalms. "Okay, let me do the talking."

Callum slouches over, pouting at her. "Fine."

"It's fiiiiiiii-ne."

He throws his arms up. "Oh my gosh!" The laugh that comes after betrays his look of annoyance. "Just do the marks and we'll be finnnnnne."

"Fiiiiiiiiii-ne."

"I give up."

Rayla stops torturing the prince there and moves to check through the bag. They don't have the proper materials do make markings, so she concludes moonberry juice will have to do. The pink color might give him away, but considering they're in a sunfire town, if it looks close enough to red, he might be able to pass. So long as no one pulls down his hood and he doesn't have to speak, they should be good to go.

When she turns back around, Callum is sat on the ground watching Zym run around. The baby dragon flaps his wings and manages to glide a little in the air. Callum applauds as Zym does an adorable bow with his head and wings flopping over.

"Alright," Rayla says, striding over and plopping herself down in front of Callum, sitting on her knees. She dips her fingers into the bottle of moonberry juice. "Don't move."

Callum giggles, and Rayla gets the feeling that this is going to be harder than it should be. Callum's eyes close, and he leans forwards and smiles. She feels her heart thump in her chest, and she does her best to ignore it.

It doesn't work, but she doesn't talk about that.

She's not sure what she's going for with the markings; she's never done them on someone else before, so she's not exactly sure how to make them. She supposes the easiest thing to do would be to remake hers but change them a little bit, so she starts painting under his eyes.

Callum laughs and reflexively pulls away. "Sorry, it's colder than i expected."

"Don't move!" she reprimands, slapping his arm lightly. "You'll mess it up!"

Callum puts his hands up in surrender without opening his eyes. "Okay, okay."

He leans forwards again, and Rayla gets back to painting. His cheeks are soft against her fingers, and part of her wishes she could squish them together just to see if he could manage to look any cuter. But just as quickly as that thought appears, she shakes her head and gets back to the task at hand.

She makes them about as even as she can. Right now, they look like an exact copy of hers, but she goes to the ends of them and paints towards the side of his face, making a weird square. Callum waits patiently, trying not to squirm or blink.

When he can feel her fingers leave his face, he asks, "How come you have markings and Lujanne doesn't?"

"Well, you're not actually born with markings," she explains. "You typically get them on your face when you're thirteen because that's when you're technically of age. You get them redone every three years. If you do some heroic deed, you can get more on your back or arms. It also depends on your job."

Callum hums and nods. "You're of age at thirteen?"

"Yeah. That's when you can get a job and technically live on your own, though most people wait until they're older to do that."

"Oh. We're of age when we're eighteen."

"Really?" she questions. The idea of waiting so long to be able to do anything is absurd to her.

"I mean, you can get a job at sixteen, but you're considered an adult at eighteen."

"Why do you wait so long?"

"I... don't know actually. I think it's something about our brains being fully developed by then, but I don't really know."

She nods, though he can't see it. Drawing one final line with her fingers, she finishes the markings with a fell swoop. "There!"

Callum opens his eyes slowly, careful not to scrunch his face. She hands him the bottle of the remaining moonberry juice and he checks out her work in his reflection. "Ooh, they kinda look like yours!"

"Yeah," she says, fiddling with her fingers as he admires his face from different angles. "I figured trying to replicate mine would be easier than trying to come up with an entirely new design."

"That makes sense," he replies. He gives the bottle back to her and she sets it in her pack, and Zym clambers in after it, already knowing he was gonna end up sitting in it. (He wasn't happy about that, but with a little bit of coaxing, the baby dragon agreed to do his best to not squirm). She strings the pack over her shoulders, careful not to jostle it too much so Zym would remain unharmed inside.

"Now all we have to do is find you a pair of gloves and hope it doesn't rain," she says, Callum collecting his things behind her. He loops his head through the strap of his sketchbook and gives her a nod. "Oh, and don't talk."

"Gotcha," he replies, mock saluting with a serious expression. But his tight lined lips fade into a dorky smile, and he relaxes his square shoulders.

They settle into comfortable silence as they approach the town, Callum quickly learning to shut up when she glances back and gives him a look. She can tell there are comments brewing on his tongue, but he bites them back for their sake.

It's not difficult getting past the town gates. She introduces the two of them, not bothering to give Callum another fake name, as he probably won't remember it. She does bother to come up with a lie on the spot for him, saying he's a sunfire and moonshadow elf hybrid. Being mixed elven race isn't uncommon, and the pink of his marks and paleness of his skin adds to the disguise. The guards raise their eyebrows at his eyes, but they let them pass because of his friendly smile. He keeps his hands hidden in his cloak as they walk by.

The town is filled with brown pathways and slanted red roofs on stone houses. The sound of metal clanging against metal is prominent, with sunfire elves being renowned for their craftsmanship. There's a crimson glow from furnaces lined around the town and a fountain of lava flowing down from rock in the distance. The town starts in the forest, reds and browns contracting against the bright greens and blues, but it fades into the opening of a cave, glowing more as the light grows dull. She sees a well, some sort of odd machine with a chain, and a few stalls lining the streets, vendors matching the color of houses.

She leads Callum through the streets. They stay within the grassy areas first because that's where all the stalls are, Callum bouncing on his heels behind her, brimming with excitement and maybe a bit of nervous energy. She needs to find him a pair of gloves and also food and water for both of them with their leftover supplies to trade. She had gone and gathered some wild berries and other assortments before they reached town, as elves don't use money and instead have a system of trade.

They hit a travel stand first, and Rayla talks with the salesperson, trading some of her berries for a couple rolls of bandages, some bigger canteens, and a few random spices and things to spruce up their meals of berries. The other stands are mainly for clothes and jewelry and building materials, so they skip over those.

"Where can you find gloves if they're not in with the clothes?" she whisper-asks, frustrated with their lack of gloves. It makes a bit of sense, seeing as how they're in a sunfire town so gloves will only make them hotter. But surely someone has to sell them.

Callum leans a little close to her shoulder and keeps his voice down as he replies, "Look for another materials stand. They should sell gloves for mechanical stuff so you don't burn your hands while you work."

She nods, ignoring his breath on her skin, and she scans for a stall with the items he described. She spots one, and she starts after it, leaving Callum to trail behind her. She knows he's excited, and she wishes they could explore for a bit, but really they should find the gloves and get out of there.

Rayla approaches the vendor, a nice looking, round-faced old man with orange marks and tall horns. He clasps his hands, friendly smile on his face, and inquires, "What can I do for you today?"

"Do you sell gloves?" she asks, not that there's any reason to; she can see a few pairs hanging from the lining of the stand. But she asks anyways to be polite.

"Why yes, I do," he says. "Do you have any specific kind in mind? I have gloves that are best for working with fire, ones for working with smaller objects, ones that will generally protect your hands."

"Um..." she hums. "What kind would some moonberries get you?"

"Not gloves, I'm afraid," he says, wrinkling his eyes. "Perhaps if you threw in some moonberry juice, I can get you a pair."

She doesn't want to give up their moonberry juice; after all, they need it to make Callum's marks and it tastes good and she can't make it herself, but she still finds herself reaching around for the zipper of her backpack. They can find another solution to his fake markings. She closes her hand around the glass bottle and hands it over to him, along with the berries she already promised.

He thanks her with a nod, and he reaches for a set of plain, thin gloves. "These one's should protect your hands from general harm."

She feels Callum finally approach her, stepping close to her back so his arm brushes against her. The salesman's eyes widen. "Oh, or are these a gift for this young man?"

"Yes, they're for him," she says, taking the gloves and holding onto them. "Thank you for the gloves."

"It's my pleasure," he says, nodding to them both. She offers a polite nod back, and Callum gives a smile.

The salesman's eyes scrunch though, and Rayla fears he's going to try to small talk. She absolutely hates small talk, as she always fails miserably at it. But instead the man asks, "What kind of elf are you, young man?"

Refusing to let the skip of her heart show, Rayla puts her hand on Callum's shoulder. "He's a mix of sunfire and moonshadow."

The salesman's eyes narrow more, and he leans forward, his clasped hands resting on the table. "Sunfire and moonshadow elves don't have green eyes."

Her heart stops. She's an actual idiot.

"In fact," the man continues, "no elves have green eyes."

Callum's smile turns nervous, and she quickly snaps, "What are you implying?"

But that was the wrong move because the salesman shouts, "Human!" before either of them can react.

"Sir, you have it all wrong," Callum says, trying to implement an accent into his words, but it's too late. Faces turn in their direction, other salesmen and women and civilians turning to the stall. Callum's hood and cloak are too obvious now, so obviously a disguise, and she's holding gloves in her hands. There's no doubt people know, especially when she sees them grab any sort of weapon they can find. Considering they're in a sunfire town, the weapons are actual crafted, polished, professional weapons. These are no human pitchforks.

Officially thrown into panic mode, she grabs Callum's hand and books it down the path. There are shouts behind them, especially as people look closer and see his five fingers, and she tugs him along faster. He keeps up with her speed although she can tell he's almost tripping, because if he doesn't, death at the hands of sunfire elves is right behind them.

They race through the town, yelling and scrambling behind them. Callum's hood flies off his head, but it doesn't matter; he's already been revealed. She guides them into the opening of the cave. It's immediately warmer inside, making her huff. Many of the civilians there haven't quite noticed or had time to react to the commotion, but they see them rush by and the angry mob behind them and get the hint. Soon they'll have the entire town after them.

"At this point, hiding will be better!" she says, scanning for any spots. The dim light doesn't help, but if she can even get them around a corner, it won't matter. Faintly, she hears Zym whimper in her backpack, shaken by the yelling and her heavy steps. If he reveals himself too, they'll be in even bigger trouble.

"Find a crowd?" Callum suggests, but it sounds like a question. "Or something else?"

Not seeing a crowd around other than the one behind them, she yanks him sideways, managing to keep him upright somehow. They're between two houses now, and she keeps running through the spaces. Behind them, the mob still yells, but less people can fit through the gaps at one time.

She reaches the end of the houses, and they run straight into the cave equivalent of an open field. There's not many people gathered though, and she hides herself and Callum on the other side of the house right next to them. She can hear the crowd filter into the open space, and they'll find them soon enough, so she tugs Callum's hood back on his head, gives him the gloves, and watches him stuff them onto his hands. His markings are beginning to drip down his face. So much for her hard work.

"What's going on?" she hears someone yell over the commotion. Keeping as far within the darkness their hiding spot provides, she tries to watch what happens, legs poised to run the opposite direction.

An elf with short white hair tied back in a small ponytail approaches the crowd. There's a few other confused faces, but mainly angry ones. The salesman who discovered them turns to the elf and sharply explains, "There's a human loose in town!"

"A human?" the other elf replies, voice filled with surprise.

"Yes. I don't know how one managed to get past the border. We were chasing them through town until we got here. Buggers disappeared."

"Them? Are there multiple humans?"

"Nah," the old man says. "He was with some elf girl. Probably a moonshadow elf, with purple tattoos like..." he traces the shape of her tattoos with his hands on his face.

"Ah," the elf says. "I saw them just now then."

Her heart starts thumping, and she mouths 'get ready' to Callum. He turns his feet in the opposite direction, and she bends her knees, ready to spring away.

"You did?!" the salesman asks, going over to the other elf and shaking his shoulders.

"She has white hair like mine, correct?"

"Yes!" the salesman exclaims. He readies the spear in his hand, pointing the tip up to the rocky ceiling, and her breath gets shorter with anticipation, heart leaping in her throat.

"I saw them go that way!" the elf shouts, getting the attention of the whole crowd. She grabs Callum's wrist and starts to turn.

But he points in the other direction.

The angry mob starts sprinting the way he points, people filing out of the space between the houses. Eventually, there are no more elves except for the one standing with his finger still pointed.

Apprehensively, Rayla steps out of their hiding spot, Callum following close behind her. The elf lowers his finger, and he turns around to face them.

He's tall with blue-green eyes and purple marks across his cheeks, looking like the symbol of the moon arcanum. His clothes have elements of sunfire styles but they keep the traditional blues and greens of moonshadow elf culture. His hair is cut short, with bangs that fall into his eyes. Rayla stops in place.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, but we should get inside first," Tinker says, crossing his arms with a raised brow and smile.

* * *

Tinker ushers them inside a small house. There's a small kitchen area, complete with the basics for cooking and a small table with three chairs. The other downstairs room is cluttered with tables upon tables and shelves upon shelves filled to the brim with papers and trinkets and random tools. There's a set of stairs leading to presumably the bedroom, or bedrooms, she's not really sure. She technically didn't grow up here; Tinker lived with Runaan for the most part and she had only been to the sunfire town a few times. It was enough time for a lot of the townspeople to dislike her, though, and enough time for her to consider it a hometown.

"Sit," Tinker says, pulling out two of the chairs before getting his own. Rayla plops in one and Callum in the other next to her, shoulders tense. Part of her wants to squeeze his hand, but feeling that may be overstepping her boundaries, she knocks her knee against his leg in what's hopefully a silent show of support. She takes off her backpack with Zym inside and sets in her lap.

"I didn't know you'd be here," she starts before there's a chance for awkward silence. "I thought you were still in Luna Oppidum."

"When you and Runaan left for your mission, I came back here to visit," he explains. "Speaking of which, don't try to change the subject. You better have a good explanation for bringing a human into Xadia."

"Yeah, uh..."

"Why are you helping us?" Callum interrupts, though by his expression, she can tell he doesn't mean to be rude. "I thought elves were like that salesman. You know, angry at humans?"

Tinker drums his fingers against the table. "Yes, well, it's not that I don't have anything against humans. But not everyone wants war."

"Neither do we!" Callum exclaims, leaning forward, eyes shining. "That's why we're returning the dragon prince to his mother!"

"The what."

Hearing his title called, Zym squirms in her backpack. Instinctively, she moves to block him, but with Callum already having revealed him, she reaches for the zipper instead. Zym pokes his head out of the backpack and looks around in awe, eyes looking dark in the candlelight, but they're still filled with wonder.

Tinker's eyes go wide, unsurprisingly, and his jaw drops. "Good job, Callum," she quips. "You broke him."

"I thought the egg was destroyed?" Tinker murmurs, watching the baby dragon almost in a trance.

"Well, it turns out the humans actually stole it. Callum here, Ezran, and I are returning him. I mean, Ezran left to go back to Katolis, but the point still stands," she explains. Zym climbs out of the bag and hops onto the table, stretching his tiny legs out.

"Can I..?" Tinker asks, hovering a hand around Zym. When Rayla nods, he pets Zym's mane softly. The baby dragon chirps and jumps into Tinker's face, licking his cheeks, causing Tinker to laugh in surprise.

"Yeah, he does that," Callum comments, reaching over the table and grabbing Zym so that Tinker can breathe.

"Do you know what happened to Runaan? Or the other elves on the mission?" Tinker asks, rubbing his cheeks to get Zym's slobber off.

Rayla shakes her head. "No. Last time I saw Runaan, he fought me after we showed him the egg."

Tinker frowns, and it's clear he's upset about Runaan, but he doesn't say anything. "Well, I'm glad you're alright. Also Callum, I presume? My name is Tinker."

"Nice to meet you!" Callum says, playing with Zym's paws and making him do a happy little dance.

Tinker scrunches his eyes as he looks at Callum, and she fears that he might say something rude. But instead, Tinker says, "If you're going to go through Xadia, you're going to need a better disguise."

Rayla almost asks what's wrong with his disguise, but then she remembers his lack of gloves, smudged markings, need to wear a hood, and his eyes that gave them away, and she swallows her words. Tinker taps his finger against his chin. "Perhaps I can make an illusion spell. It won't take long. I can use a necklace I already have and lace a spell in."

Callum and Zym's dance stops as Callum's eyes sparkle. "You can do that? I know you can cast spells, but I didn't know you could put them in objects."

A small smile forms on Tinker's lips. They both know how much he takes pride in and loves to boast about his work. "Yes. It's even easier for me since I am a moonshadow and sunfire hybrid myself, not that you can really tell." He chuckles, rising from his seat. "I can have it done very quickly. I'll try to keep it simple so there's less of a chance of you being discovered."

He tilts his head. "How did you know about casting spells?"

Callum blushes, hiding his face behind Zym's wall of hair. "I uh... I can do spells myself."

Tinker raises his eyebrows, blinking rapidly like he had been in the dark for ages and had stepped out into daylight. "A human? Doing magic?"

Callum nods, shrinking behind Zym. "He's a sky mage," Rayla explains for him, seeing his mix of shyness and humility. "He only knows fulminis and aspiro though."

"That's... very interesting," Tinker says, gazing at Callum with a sort of curiosity that wasn't there before. "A sky mage, huh? Is that all you can do?"

"Yeah," Callum replies, bringing his face out from behind Zym's mane.

Tinker hums, like he doesn't really believe that. Rayla chimes in before it can get awkward. "Thanks," she says, standing as well. "For making that and getting the town off our backs."

"Yes well, I hope they're not too angry with me," he says. "I'll get started on that necklace. In the meantime, you guys clean up. And Callum, I think there's someone you should meet."

* * *

Tinker's disguise is so _easy_.

It's not anything different to what they had before; the necklace gives him actual marks, fake horns, pointed ears, and changes his eye color to more of a blue green, which makes the story of him being a mix of sunfire and something else more believable. Tinker told him to change that story from moonshadow to skywing, and so Callum rolls with it. He still has to wear gloves though, but it's not that big of a deal. In a sunfire town, he can get away with it under the pretense of working with fire.

Callum's only concern was how Tinker had practically pushed him out the door and told him to go find someone named Aestas. Walking through town before was difficult enough. While the sights had been nice, he'd been constantly on edge. This time, there's no one to hide behind.

He walks through the streets cautiously, still feeling the tension from earlier. Everyone is on edge, looking for the human that trespassed through town, and so he tries to blend in as much as possible. It's hard to do when his stance is awkward and he's not a familiar face, but he manages.

He's not sure how exactly he's supposed to find one specific person in a town full of people, so he mainly just explores. He finds kids playing with simple machines, a library, a big kitchen and dining area, and the lava waterfall. He steers clear of the last one.

Eventually, he finds a fountain of not-water (he's not sure what it is exactly, but it's definitely not water) and he sits on the stone edge of it. He's been walking around for a while and still has no idea how to find anyone without being able to go up and talk to people.

Someone sits on the fountain nearby him. He looks older, judging by his gray hair and long beard. His robes are a mix of oranges and reds, and his eyes are a warm brown. He has markings that make three lines going from his forehead down to his eyebrows on either side of his face, and tall horn that remind Callum of a deer.

"What are you doing here, a puero puer?" the man asks. Somehow, Callum gets the feeling he's calling him 'young man,' like that salesman did.

Not bothering to hide his accent, he simply says, "I was told to find someone named Aestas, but I don't know where to look."

The man chuckles. "Well, you've found me."

"Oh," Callum says, his lack of reaction startling even to him. He adds a small smile, hoping to save this interaction somehow. "Uh, hi. I'm Callum."

"Nice to meet you, Callum." He places his right hand on his heart like a fist, an elven greeting Rayla had told him about. She said it was the elven equivalent of a human handshake, and so Callum mirrors the action. "Say, is there a reason you were looking for me?"

"Um... well, Tinker told me to find you and ask you about..." Callum trails off. Tinker's words had been vague at best and in a language other than the common tongue, so Callum had memorized the audio as best as he could. "Sol magicae?"

"Ah," the man hums. "Sun magic. You must be a young mage in training then?"

Not sure how to reply, with his story being so complicated already, he decides to agree. "Yeah."

"Well, I suppose I can get you started on sun magic. Are you connected with the sun arcanum already?"

"No," Callum replies, too soon, because he realizes afterwards his story about being part sunfire elf is now in the trash. "I'm connected to the sky arcanum."

Aestas chuckles. "Then why are you trying to learn sun magic?"

"Uh... I wasn't planning on it? Tinker kinda threw me out and told me to find you."

Aestas laughs, loud and heartily. "Yes well, perhaps you should learn more about sky magic if that's the arcanum you're connected to."

He does want to learn more sky magic, that's true. But at the same time, the prospect of learning something completely new pulls him in. "Actually, I'm half sunfire elf, so I was wondering if I could still connect to that arcanum."

Aestas raises an eyebrow. "Are you also half skywing?"

Callum nods, trying not to let his brief panic show. Last time someone looked too hard, he and Rayla had nearly been skewed by an angry mob of elves. But Aestas only smiles. "That certainly explains it. Come along, then. I have a lot to teach you."

* * *

Rayla rubs the rag against the dish, cleaning off the little pieces of food stuck on it. When Tinker had kicked Callum out (against her protests), she'd been left with nothing to do but help out around the house. Now, she isn't the housewife, laundry-doing, obsessive cleaner type of person, but she's literally _so_ bored, she has no choice.

She can hear Tinker chipping away at another project. How he had managed to make Callum's necklace so quickly, she didn't know, but his work was still as impressive as ever. He'd even made her blades all those years ago, and they still remained as sharp and mobile as they were when they were first crafted.

"What are you working on?" she asks, finishing cleaning the last dish.

"A commission," Tinker replies, not bothering to look up from his work.

She hums, placing the plate on a mat along with the others to dry. Then she sets the rag in the sink and dusts off her hands. She sighs. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Not really," he says. "You've done a lot already."

She strides over the the table and sits in one of the chairs, swinging her legs forwards and backwards. Underneath the table, Zym hops against her feet, dodging her kicks.

"So, you and Callum are returning the dragon prince to her majesty?" Tinker clarifies, stringing a charm onto a chain.

"Yup. We're hoping it's a peace gesture of sorts. Ya know, to end the war."

"I see." Tinker sets his project on the table and rises from his seat. "Have you ever considered..." he starts, dragging his hand on the stone wall as he walks over towards her. "That maybe this won't work?"

She has considered it, gone over the scenario where they're kicked out of the Capital or even worse, exiled from Xadia, or even worse still, killed before they can even get there. But every time, she shoves those thoughts deep down into her mind. They'll make the dragon queen see. They have to. There's no other option.

But Tinker's question makes all of her 'what-ifs' resurface, and she scowls. "What do you mean?"

"There's so much tension between elves and humans." He gestures to the door. "You saw it out there. The whole town tried to attack you and Callum. And her majesty has lost so much to humans. What will you do if this doesn't-"

"We'll make it work!" she exclaims, cutting Tinker off and jumping to her feet, pushing her chair out behind her. "We have to! There's no other option."

A small smile rises on Tinker's face. "I admire your determination. I just want you to be prepared for the worst."

She nods. "I am."

Tinker's head droops, dropping his gaze to the floor, and he shifts his feet. "What about if it goes right?"

She tilts her head, Zym chirping by her heels. "What do you mean?"

He meets her gaze. "Well, Callum will go back to Katolis, correct?"

"Yeah. He's already said he's going to."

He steps forward, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Then where will you go?"

She... hasn't thought about that. She's always assumed that she and Callum would stay together, but there's no way humans will allow an elf back into Katolis so soon, let alone into the castle. She would be forced to stay in Xadia while Callum would get to go back to his home. She would have to say goodbye to someone close to her.

Again.

And with that thought planted in her head, she steps backwards out of Tinker's grasp, breath already shorter. She's going to lose Callum. After all of their preparation, all of the things they've gone through, at the end of the day, it's not going to matter.

She's always known in the back of her mind that they would be returning Zym. She's always known in the back of her mind that the entire point of the mission was giving up Zym. No matter what happened, no matter what struggles they faced together, no matter how much they bonded, in the end, she will be losing Zym.

Maybe losing isn't the right word. Merely giving up. She's going to end up giving up Zym. It hasn't really occurred to her until then, though. It has remained in the back of her mind, a small worry, like the thought of '_what if this goes wrong_?'

That has always been her main worry. She has to keep them alive, keep them hidden, get to the Capital, and then return Zym. Somehow, she'll have to manage to convince the dragon queen to work for peace, and then convince all the elves and humans the same thing. It would be a grueling task, but she's ready for it. She will make sure it doesn't go wrong. It won't all collapse.

But now, she thinks, '_what if this goes right_?'

And somehow, that's more worrying.

"Are you okay?" Tinker asks, simple question fading to worry.

"Yeah-" she coughs, choking on her own breath. She hides it behind a laugh, breathy and fake, and her foot catches on the leg of the table and she stumbles backwards, but she doesn't mind so long as she gets _away_. Zym curls by her feet and it rips her heart out because looking at him is only a reminder of how she's going to lose him, and she steps out of the circle his paws make and dashes for the stairs, ignoring Tinker and Zym calling out for her.

* * *

Aestas leads him to the opening of the cave and to the outside portion of the town. Callum follows dutifully behind, trying to ignore the worry of the old man possibly kidnapping him. But they stop when they reach a more open field.

Aestas sits on a rock, and Callum wanders over and stands politely. "Do you know what the sun arcanum is about, a puero puer?"

"Not really," Callum replies honestly, but his brain is more focused on the end of his sentence. "What do you keep saying?"

"A puero puer? It means young boy," the man explains. "I suppose you don't speak sun tongue then."

"Uh... no, I guess not," he replies sheepishly, trying to ignore the part of his brain celebrating his accurate guess earlier. "What about the sun arcanum?"

Aestas gazes at his hand. "The sun arcanum is about passion, a puero puer. You must be sure of yourself and what you truly want." Drawing a simple rune in the air, he whispers an incantation Callum can't hear, and a flame sparks above the tip of his finger. "A flame can be a warm, guiding light, like a hearth's heat when you are cold."

He whispers another incantation and his flame bursts higher, making Callum flinch and reflexively step away. The flame burns high in the air, a tower of raging fire. "Or it can be hot, burning through you like acid."

With a snap of his other hand, the flames die out in a second. Steam pours from under his nails, and his eyebrows scrunch, his voice tighter. "You must decide whether your passion is for warmth or for heat. You must be sure of yourself and in control so that your flame doesn't burst and explode."

Callum blinks, image of the tall blaze still fresh in his mind. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Why not?" Aestas asks, regarding Callum curiously.

"I..." he says, his mind stuttering and trying to compute the mage's words. "I think... I'd be too scared."

"Of?"

"Of..." he swallows, looking to his hands. "Of hurting someone."

Aestas nods sympathetically. "That's a fair concern most young sunfire mages have, especially inexperienced ones. The arcanum is about having trust in yourself. If you are scared of your flame," he stands, towering over Callum, "then I don't think you are ready to learn the sun arcanum."

Disappointment fills him, but he tries not to let it show. "The sky arcanum is so much more... peaceful."

"Ah," Aestas says. "The sky arcanum can be dangerous too. Storms can rip apart homes. Lightning can be deadly. And when you use air..." he pauses, trailing off. "The point is, all arcanums have a darker side. That is why mage tutors will drill it into you: don't let power go to your head. Any arcanum can be used for evil, or to hurt someone. You just don't fear it with the sky as much because you are comfortable with it."

Aestas places his hands on Callum's shoulders. "Once you build up that same trust with the sun as you did with the sky, it won't seem as scary anymore. And even so, these arcanums are linked in a way."

"They are?"

"Yes," Aestas says, wistfully looking to the side. "They say that a mage who can produce flames in the rain is a mage who can withstand anything."

"How can you make flames in the rain? The sun would be hidden then, so aside from the rain, how could you do that?"

Aestas looks away, thinking of a reply. "Magic isn't that simple. You can pull it from inside yourself, or even a source not expected around you. Experienced sun mages can use moonlight as a means of making fire during the night since moonlight is technically reflected sunlight. It's about senses."

He lets go of Callum's shoulders. "But you need not worry about that. If you would like to learn the sun arcanum seriously, come back here. You have a flame of determination inside you, Callum. I can tell."

And with that, Aestas walks away, leaving Callum with a lot to think about.

* * *

He decides to sleep on it.

There's a guest room upstairs, and by the time Callum finds his way back (after getting lost in the town for hours), Rayla is already asleep in the bed, but there's a mattress complete with a pillow and blanket left out for him. Surprisingly, Zym isn't by Rayla, and so Callum lets him curl into his side as he tries to fall asleep.

The next morning when he wakes up, Rayla is gone, and he can smell the faint scent of food wafting in from the kitchen. Rayla had once admitted she doesn't know how to cook anything other than the basics, so he assumes it's Tinker's doing. Zym is still curled by Callum, so when he shifts to sit up, Zym topples off his side.

With both him and the baby dragon awake, they stumble downstairs, Callum combing through his hair with his hands, Zym blinking drowsily. Tinker is nowhere to be found, but he sees Rayla and plates of food at the table.

Plunking down in the seat across from her, he asks, "Can I just... take what I want?"

She nods, letting his fork hang loosely from her hands. Callum first gets a plate for Zym, and he sets it in front of the other chair, Zym having climbed up and sitting like a child at the table. Once Zym begins to eat, Callum gets a plate for himself.

"Good morning," he greets politely. He's not sure what the food is made of exactly, so he assumes it's fine. With Tinker knowing he's a human and that they have Zym and his friendliness so far, he doubts he would make anything they can't eat.

Rayla hums in response, picking at her food. When Callum bites into the dish, it's like honey on his tongue. He's eaten a few wild sunberries while they were on the road, and he can detect the faint taste of them, along with something else sweet, like syrup. They remind him of pancakes almost, except sunberry ones.

Before saying his next comment, he chews and swallows. "I think I'm going to go back to Aestas today."

Rayla doesn't reply, so he continues. "I do want to learn the sun arcanum. It's still..." he pauses, trailing off to take a bite. "A bit scary, but I think I can manage it."

She still doesn't say anything, and Callum pauses with his fork halfway to his mouth. "Are you okay?"

Rayla chooses that moment to stand up. She picks up her plate and leaves it on the counter, and then begins to stride past him. Callum is up in a flash, catching her arm. "Rayla-"

She tears her arm out of his grip, leaving Callum's hand to grasp at the empty air. Then, not bothering to give him a glance, she storms up the stairs, with Callum at the bottom in utter confusion.

He returns to the field later that day, just like Aestas told him to.

The sun arcanum would be... difficult, per se, to master. Not necessarily because he's a human and slower at this stuff, but fire isn't something he's exactly comfortable with. In fact, he thinks he's been even more on edge in this town simply because of that one lavafall.

It scares him. The idea of holding fire in his hands, having the ability to warm or burn someone, terrifies him. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, and he knows he won't, but a voice in the back of his mind reminds him of the dark magic incident and he wonders how far he's willing to go. There's other reasons too, but that's the main one.

But regardless, he's determined to learn all that he can. Back at the castle, he found most lessons boring, spending far too long tapping his pencil and not caring. With magic, he's finally engaged in learning something, just like how he used to pour himself over books, absorbing everything like a sponge.

He needs to find that one book again, the one he read when he was younger. That was a great book.

"Hello again," a voice says, starling Callum out of his wits. He jumps up and whips around at the speed of light, but it's only Aestas near him. "I see you've decided to take up my offer?"

"Yeah," he croaks, voice high enough to be embarrassing. He clears his throat. "So, what are we gonna do?"

Aestas walks over to the same rock he sat on the day before. "Well, have you managed to master the sun arcanum in a day?"

He blushes, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, no."

Aestas chuckles. "Then I'm going to show you a simple spell to help you, give you a goal to shoot for." He getsures to the sky. "Do you know why I brought you outside for training?"

He looks up at the sky, seeing the brilliant blue and scattered clouds. He has to bring his hand up to see, however, light filtering from the spaces between his fingers. "Because the sun is out here?"

"Yes. Outside during the day, sun magic is easiest," he answers. "Our magic is strongest at noon, but any time of day will work for this spell."

"Are there sun spells that can only be casted at noon?" Callum interrupts, the question spilling from his mouth before he can pause and wait for Aestas to finish what he can say. "Like, ones that are so powerful you have to wait until then?"

"Not exactly," the man explains. "But there are spells where casting them at noon would be ideal. Though the most powerful sun spells don't necessarily need that."

Callum hums, dropping his hand to his side and his gaze to the mage. "Watch me closely," he says, and he brings his finger up in front of his face. He slowly draws a simple rune, just a circle with a line through the bottom, like a capital Q. "This is one of the simplest sun spells and is the one I showed you yesterday."

"The tower of fire?"

"No, no," Aestas chuckles. "The small flame. The incantation for this spell is _incendo_." As he speaks the word, a tiny fire, right above his pointed finger, bursts to life. It's no larger than the flame of a lighter, and the glow of it casts onto his hand. "This spells is mainly used for lighting candles, but it could also be a small light in a cave if you wish. It doesn't have to be through your pointer finger either. It could be through your thumb or the other two as well."

"Incendo," Callum repeats, filing away the rune and pronunciation for later use. "I'm guessing it means something to do with fire? Like... ignite?"

"Yes, ignite is exactly what it means," Aestas says. "And if you want the flame to go away, the easiest way to put it out is to use your breath." He blows on the flame like it's a birthday candle, and it whooshes out. "You could technically also snap it, but there's no point since this flame is small."

"Snap it?"

"Don't worry about that," Aestas says, rising to his feet. "Have you got the rune and incantation, or should I go over those again?"

With his pointer finger, Callum traces the rune in the air, though no magic comes from his hand. Aestas smiles at the correct shape. "Wonderful. And you've already repeated the incantation, so I'll assume you know it."

"Incendo," he says. Nothing happens, unsurprisingly.

"Having a spell to try should make connecting to the arcanum easier," Aestas explains. "Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't be able to connect to this arcanum. But since you're half sunfire elf, you should be able to build one."

"Why can't you connect to an arcanum you don't have?" Callum asks, trying to fill his voice with as much curiosity as possible so he doesn't sound suspicious.

Aestas laughs. "You just said why: you don't have it." He taps his finger against his chin. "Some very experienced mages can connect to arcanums they weren't born with, but that takes decades of work. Even then, they may only be able to connect to one other one. Connecting to more than three is simply unheard of."

Callum hums, silently celebrating how he managed to do something thought impossible. He'd never been able to accomplish much of anything before, anything other than failure that is, so to know he's done something that's supposedly extremely difficult fills him with more determination than ever to keep learning.

And just for the heck of it, he asks, "Could... say, a human, connect to a primal source?"

That was the wrong question to ask. Aestas' eyes darken, and for a second, Callum fears he might've seen through his disguise. "The only magic humans can connect to is dark magic, and that's not even a type of magic."

Callum hums, doing his best to not sound terrified and seem nonchalant. "Is that completely true, or can humans in theory manage to do primal magic?"

"They can do primal magic with a primal source, yes," Aestas responds, brows still lowered, eyes still piercing. "But aside from that, no human has ever connected to a primal source."

His heart leaps, though he's not sure whether it's in a good or bad way. "Ever?"

"Ever."

Callum fiddles with the strap of his sketchbook. No human has ever connected to a primal source. Ever. And yet here he stands, knowing that he's done what the mage just said to be utterly impossible. No human has ever connected to a primal source. No human has _ever_ connected to a primal source.

Have they ever tried? Humans have been around for thousands of years, surely someone has tried primal magic without an arcanum. Maybe he's the first to. Maybe it's not impossible but no one had managed it before him. He can't be the first human to connect to a primal source... can he? There's no way.

If no human has ever connected to a primal source, then how come Callum of all people was able to?

"Are you alright, Callum?" Aestas asks, cloudiness of his eyes gone. Callum then notices his breath coming shorter, his hands clutching the strap of his sketchbook so tightly his knuckles are white. "You look pale."

"Yeah," he gets out, and he clears his throat after he realizes his voice is scratchy. "Yeah, I just... my mind trailed off when we started talking about humans, and... uh..."

Aestas voice is filled with sympathy. "Oh. That's quite alright. Many people have been affected by the coming war. I'm sorry you are too."

"Yeah," Callum says, eyes glued to the grass, fingers tapping the leather strap. "Yeah, me too."

"Perhaps we should be done for the day," Aestas says, giving Callum a patient smile. It's bittersweet to him now, and the image of his darkened eyes and dangerous expression flash through Callum's mind. "How about you return home and think about the sun arcanum and what I've taught you."

"That sounds good," Callum agrees. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," Aestas says.

Callum walks away, lump in his throat, hands still clutching his sketchbook. Aestas' words run through his mind. No human has _ever_ connected to an arcanum.

So what makes him the special case?

* * *

He's not watching where he's going as he walks through town.

The houses all look similar, decorated with red tiled roofs and stone walls. The details are different, but the concept is the same, and when he's busy trying not to cry, he can't tell the difference.

He memorized the route back to Tinker's house the other day, using his photographic memory to find landmarks and memorizing the pattern of how he got there. While his audio and motion memory certainly aren't on par with his visual one, they're not bad either, and he takes the same path he did before, except at a faster speed.

His eyes are glistening and he can feel his knees shake, like at some point he's going to take a step and collapse to the ground. He finds himself grabbing his sketchbook with one hand and his scarf with the other, tugging it up to cover his mouth. He tries to blink the blur out of his eyes, but it only makes it worse.

His steps are quick and sharp, and there's no thoughts in his mind for once. Usually his brain is scrambled with images and random thought nuggets and going over the same information, but his mind is blank as he strolls through town, completely on autopilot. He gets the feeling that as soon as he gets back to Tinker's house, he's going to fall to the floor in a sobbing puddle of mess.

So when he feels himself crash into somebody, he's not entirely surprised; after all, he hasn't been paying attention at all. He stumbles back, hands flying out in front of him, and the elf he ran into stands before him, reflexively grabbing his shoulders.

"I'm sorry!" he says quickly. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

She chuckles, light and forgiving. "I could tell."

Her hair is brown, cascading down her shoulders with straight side bangs on one half of her face. Her eyes are light brown, covered by brown rimmed glasses, and she has green marks drawn above her eyebrows, similar to Aestas', except there's only one line on either side. Her clothes reflect the same color scheme of green and browns, and there's thick lines and patterns that remind him of gears. She's taller than him by a few inches, a bit taller than Rayla, and she looks to be in her twenties.

"Are you an Earthblood elf?" Callum finds himself asking, mouth moving before he has the chance to filter his words.

"Yes, I am," she replies kindly, removing her hands from his shoulders and taking a step back so there's a polite amount of distance between them. "And you?"

"I'm skywing and sunfire," he says, sticking to the same story he's told before. She raises an eyebrow to that, and she gives a warm smile.

"Are you from here?"

"No," he responds. "I'm visiting with my friend."

She hums, rocking back on her heels. "I hope you enjoy your stay. I'm also passing through."

"Oh?" Callum questions. "What are you visiting for?"

"I'm picking up a few books on magic," she says patiently, answering his curiosity. He's used to people ignoring his questions, so to have someone respond to them is nice for a change. "One of my students needs them."

"Students?"

"Yes," she nods, hair bouncing as she does. "I teach magic at the College in the capital." She sticks her hand out in front of him. "Professor Ichi."

He shakes her hand, remembering to give a firm handshake as he was taught to back in Katolis. "Callum. It's nice to meet you."

"And you as well."

"I'm studying magic," Callum finds himself saying as he drops her hand. "And if you're a professor, do you have any tips?"

She adjusts her glasses, pushing them up with her finger. "What kind of magic?"

"Sun," he answers, and before he can stop himself he adds, "and sky."

"Ah, two arcanums." She looks to the side, thinking for a moment. "Well for sun, I'm sure your tutor has told you it's all about control."

"Yeah."

"It might seem difficult or even nerve racking, but if you have enough trust in yourself, you'll be able to control your flame much easier." For a second, he appreciates how she explains it simply but speaks to him like an actual student and not a dumb child. "The more comfortable you are, the more sure of yourself you'll be. I was nervous when conjuring my first flame as well."

"I thought you were an earthblood elf?"

She clasps her hands in front of her and smiles. "Yes, well, I'm also connected to both the sun and sky arcanum. I've been a mage for a very long time."

"My teacher said connecting to multiple arcanum was really hard."

"It is," she says, and she winks. "For some people."

Offering one more smile, she says, "I'm sure you can do it. You have a lot of potential. I hope you succeed."

"You too," he says, and he internally curses himself for the out of place reply. "I mean, I hope you do well at whatever you're uh... trying to accomplish?"

She laughs, hiding her smile behind a fist. "I appreciate it. It was nice meeting you."

"You too," he replies correctly this time, returning her grin.

She strides past him with a friendly wave goodbye, and Callum is left to caliber where he was in his muscle memory trek back to Tinker's house, feeling a little less upset.

* * *

After making breakfast for the kids, Tinker has taken his recent project: a commission for a lovely old lady who wants a necklace based on the designs of moonshadow elf culture, to her house to deliver. Rayla had woken up and wandered downstairs as he left, and he made sure to wish her a good morning before he left, still feeling the guilt from the afternoon the previous day.

The necklace is light in his hands. It's a small charm, not enchanted, and with a simple design he'd made up as he went. True to his brand, it included many swirls and curves. He hopes she likes it.

As he gazes at the necklace, his mind wanders to the pendant he made for Callum, and then to the human himself. Bringing him into Xadia had been a stupid decision on Rayla's part, but he understands her reasoning. If the kids can manage to pull this off, they will accomplish something he could only dream of. And despite the tensions between the two races, he has a feeling there are more elves who are peaceful then they'll admit.

It should be easier with the human around as well, the perfect bridge between. He hadn't known when he'd first seen him, but his green eyes had stuck out immediately, vibrant despite the dim lighting in the cave. Then came the brown hair, and the shy, humbleness he had, while having the same curiosity and inability to filter his questions.

The realization had struck him very suddenly when the human had confessed his magical abilities. No human has ever connected to a primal source before, and his presence had crashed in unexpectedly, leaving Tinker reeling for answers.

But with him around, the dragon prince returned, and Rayla proving elves can get along with humans, perhaps they will succeed. Or perhaps those same things will be the reasons they don't.

Regardless, he knows this will turn out interesting.

* * *

*pronunciation:

aestas - i-e-stas

ichi - e-chi

*as for the random latin stuff, you can translate it if you want, but most of it will either be translated later or was already translated in the story

*idk how to write smaLL TALK-

*ive literally put so many little hints in this chapter my foreshadowing isn't even subtle anymore

*little does callum know, one of these characters he just met will be v important later...

*tehehehehehehe

*ok bye


End file.
